Eastern Conference 1st Round Preview
It’s here hockey fans. The time we’ve all been waiting for. The chase for the cup begins Tuesday night with 3 of the 4 East match-ups being inter-division rivalries. The last time the same Cup champion came from the same conference on back to back years was 07-08 when the Ducks and Red Wings won. Being that last year the Kings won, it would seem that the East is due to carry the cup around in June. None of the East series start until Wednesday. The waiting is almost over, and here’s the breakdown of the four first round Eastern Conference playoff match-ups. Drop the puck, it’s almost time to go.
1 Pittsburgh vs 8 NY Islanders- PIT won season series 4-1
PIT: The Penguins enter the playoffs as the heavy favorites to win the East this year. However, this team has a “Stanley Cup or bust” type attitude right now, which puts huge pressure on this group. Last year, the Penguins went out in 6 to the Flyers in arguably the most entertaining series in a long time, a series that saw the Penguins lose their cool repeatedly.
NYI: Not many had the Islanders in the playoffs this year, but this team got hot late in the year, and enters their first postseason since 2007 playing as well as any team in the league right now. John Tavares is on an MVP-like campaign as of late and this team poses a dangerous match-up for the Penguins.
X factors:
PIT- Marc Andre Fleury: Last year, Fleury was terrible in the postseason with a 4.63 GAA. If this team wants to make a long postseason run, he won’t be able to lose games for the team like he did last year.
NYI- (NHL.com took this from me, I swear) Michael Grabner: Nabokov would be the obvious pick, so I won’t even bother. Grabner is the fastest player on the ice in this series, and leads the NHL in breakaway attempts for the second consecutive year. He’s dangerous to Pittsburgh by being able to push the defense back. Also, with all of the attention on Tavares, Grabner will have a little more time and space to operate. If he can get a few breaks and put up some points, the Islanders have a shot in this series.
PIT will win if… Simple, Pittsburgh wins if this becomes an up and down game. The Islanders just can not keep up with all the depth skill players of the Penguins. If PIT can consistently put up 4-5 goals here, this one is over.
NYI will win if… The islanders have to be physical with the Penguins. It’s no secret that Crosby, Malkin, Neal, etc are not physical players, and actually the only time they will really be physical is when the opposition gets them off their game. The islanders will have to piss off the Penguins stars and get this series ugly, gritty, and similar to what the Flyers generally do with them.
Match-up to watch: John Tavares vs Kris Letang
Prediction: If the Isles can steal one of the first two in Pittsburgh, I think they have a real shot. I feel they will win one of those first two, but the Penguins are just too much for the Isles to handle, and will knock off NYI in 6 games. PIT 4-2.
2 Montreal vs 7 Ottawa- Season series split 2-2
MTL: Montreal lost 6 of their last 10 heading into the postseason, but had a division title fall into their lap when Boston couldn’t capitalize on chance after chance near the end. What this meant for the Habs is that they get the Senators rather than the Leafs.
OTT: The Senators are a very dangerous 7 seed here. This team was absolutely decimated by injuries this season. Craig Anderson, Eric Karlsson, Milan Michalek, Jason Spezza, Jared Cowen, Chris Phillips, and the list goes on and on of star Ottawa players to miss a large part of the season. This team managed to get in the playoffs, and now with getting a lot of those injured players back have a great chance here.
X-Factors:
MTL: Carey Price. I don’t like picking goalies for this but with Montreal, it absolutely has to be Price. When he is on, he is one of the best 3 0r 4 goalies in the NHL (that is not a typo). He is that good when he is on his game. However, he has struggled a lot as of late and will need to find himself right now or they will not beat Ottawa.
OTT: Eric Karlsson. There is no other NHL defenseman like him. He is very solid defensively and also the most offensively gifted d-man in the league. However, he is just coming back off of an injury, and will likely need a few more games before he gets back to his normal self. This Ottawa team does not score many goals (24th in the league) so they will need Karlsson to not only defend, but provide points for the Sens.
MTL will win if… They need to play like they did for the first 3 months of this season. They became one of the league’s best by playing defense first. When they tried to go up and down all game, they got burned. Play solid D and they should be good.
OTT will win if… Their penalty kill continues to be the best in the league. Entering the postseason with the #1 PK in the league, it will have to be great to shut down the #5 MTL PP. If they are able to kill off penalties, they have a great chance to shut down the habs.
Matchup to watch: Eric Karlsson vs PK Subban
Prediction: Ottawa is a popular pick here, and I agree. They’re getting some of their best players back just in time for the playoffs, and Montreal has struggled as of late. I’ll take Ottawa in 6.
3 Washington 6 NY Rangers- NYR won season series 2-0-1
WSH: A month ago, it didn’t look like the Caps would be anywhere near the postseason. A crazy April that saw them go 11-1-1 won them the Southeast division, and for the 4th time in the last 5 years, will take on the Rangers in the playoffs.
NYR: The Rangers ended up winning an exciting 2nd round series last year in 7 games. An up and down season saw the Rangers end with the 6 seed, as the team caught fire after trading last years leading scorer Marian Gaborik at the deadline. The players they acquired then have all been great. Derick Brassard especially has been playing the best of his career since coming over, and will continue to be counted on during the series.
X-Factors:
WSH: Mike Green. Everyone knows what you’re getting from Ovechkin and Backstrom, but you get a whole new element when Green is on his game. When healthy, he’s one of the NHL’s best offensive defensemen, and is hard to match up against.
NYR: Brad Richards. With Stepan emerging as the top line center playing with Hagelin and Callahan, Richards has seen many different linemates late in the year. He had a horrid first 3 months to the season, but seems to be finding himself at the perfect time. It appears that Richards will be centering Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash, and that line will need to add scoring for the Rangers to beat the Capitals.
WSH will win if… their powerplay converts on their chances. Washington brings the NHL’s #1 powerplay to this series, and if they can capitalize it will really put the Rangers behind the 8 ball.
NYR will win if… Henrik Lundqvist continues to be the best goalie in the league. Last year’s Vezina winner has played in the last 14 straight games, so if he can battle fatigue to stay on the top of his game, the Rangers should win.
Match-up to watch: Ovechkin and Backstrom vs Girardi and McDonagh
Prediction: These teams are very familiar with one another as a result of playing in the postseason 4 of the last 5 years. This series has 7 games all over it. This will end up being the most entertaining series of round one, Lundqvist will outplay Holtby, and the Rangers take this in 7. NYR 4-3.
4 Boston vs 5 Toronto- BOS won season series 3-1
BOS: For a while it seemed like the Bruins were gonna run away with this division. However, after losing 3 of their last 4 games, they no longer took the Northeast and end up with a first round meeting with division rival Toronto. The Bruins have owned Toronto, winning 9 of the last 10 with the Leafs over the last two years.
TOR: This will be the first time Toronto will be in postseason play since before the lockout, 2004 playoffs to be exact. This is a very young Leafs team, and undersized at a lot of positions. There is very little postseason experience to go around so it will be interesting to see how they do.
X-factor:
BOS: Tuukka Rask. The last few years, Tim Thomas has carried the B’s in the playoffs. The last time Rask had the net in the postseason was 2010, and if you remember he was in net when the Bruins blew the 3-0 lead to the Flyers. Rask is known to be a hothead, but is also one of the most talented goalies in the league. The playoffs will test him mentally as much as physically, so he’ll need to keep his head and stay mentally tuned in if the Bruins want to make a run. The Bruins usually out-shoot opponents, and the Leafs get out-shot by more than anyone in the playoffs, so Rask won’t have to steal games but just make the saves he should make.
TOR: Phil Kessel. You’re right, I didn’t take a Toronto goalie. That’s because Reimer has been great this year. Kessel (a former Bruin) has struggled mightily against the Bruins since coming to Toronto. He will need to score against Boston for the Leafs to have much of a chance against the B’s this series. He can not afford to put up 0 points in many games here.
BOS will win if… They can be physical with the Leafs. This series matches up the physical Bruins with the fast Leafs. The Bruins would like some very lenient officiating here, and would rather play as much of the series 5 on 5 as possible.
TOR will win if… the games are fact paced, high scoring, and tightly officiated. Ranking higher than Boston in both PP and PK percentage, they would love this to come down to a powerplay battle with the Bruins. If this does, I think the Leafs have the better shot at winning here.
Match-up to watch: Phil Kessel vs Zdeno Chara
Prediction: As much as the Leafs and the city of Toronto have been waiting for this to be here, they got matched up against the wrong team. The Bruins are struggling, so seeing the Leafs could be just what the doctor ordered for them. Reimer outplays Rask here, but the Leafs won’t generate enough chances 5 on 5 to win the series, and won’t have as many powerplay chances as they would want to. Give me the Bruins in 6. BOS 4-2.
With these predictions, the 2nd round would feature 1 Pittsburgh vs 7 Ottawa and 4 Boston vs 6 NY Rangers.
Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @malber9
Matt
Game 48; The last stop before the playoffs!
Game 47; It’s a win and in!
Source: Grant Halverson/Getty Images North America)
New York Rangers (24-18-4) @ Carolina Hurricanes (19-24-3)
One more road game ahead for the Rangers tonight when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center. The Rangers couldn’t clinch the playoff spot against the Panthers but they a have another chance tonight. Two points will secure their spot in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Hurricanes are coming off from the shootout win over the Islanders. After tonight contest, the Rangers will close up their regular season against the Devils at the Garden while the Hurricanes will end their season in Pittsburgh. The Rangers and the Canes, Enjoy!
CAR:
Even without Marc Staal, there will be three Staals on the ice tonight. 22-year-old Jared Staal will make his NHL debut tonight against the Rangers. The Canes have won just 3 out of their last 13 games but at the moment they are in the two game winning streak. This season has been tough for them. After good start to the season they lost a few key players for a long time. Tuomo Ruutu has played in only 15 games this season. Even bigger disappointment was Cam Ward’s knee injury. Dan Ellis and Justin Peters haven’t been able to carry the team. The Canes have beaten the Lightning and the Isles, they’re ready to end their season with pride.
NYR:
After winning three games in-the-row, the Rangers couldn’t find a way to beat the Panthers on their home-ice. They outshooted the Panthers 38-to-16 but the home team used their chances well. The first period was scoreless but early in the second period, Filip Kuba gave the Panthers 1-0 lead. The Rangers tied the game early in the 3rd period with the goal by Taylor Pyatt. Brad Richards was called for tripping at 6:43 in the 3rd – and the Panthers cashed in. After a beautiful set-up, Marcel Goc scored his 8th of the season and gave the Panthers 2-1 lead. The Rangers pulled out Lundqvist and tried to tie the game with 6 attackers just to see Drew Shore getting empty-netter. In the last minute, Derick Brassard made it 3-2.
Despite the loss against the Panthers, the Rangers still controls their own destiny. The Winnipeg Jets will play their final game of the season tonight against the Canadiens. If they can’t get any points – the Rangers will clinch the playoff spot.
Key players and stats:
After going 24 games without the points, Taylor Pyatt now has points in four consecutive games (2+2). John Moore has 1 goal and 4 assists in the 11 games with the Rangers. He had one assist in the 17 games with the Blue Jackets. Henrik Lundqvist is now ranked 4th in the league on SV% with .926. For the Hurricanes, you need to look out for Eric Staal and Jiri Tlusty. They have scored total of 39 goals this season. Expecting to see goaltender match-up, Dan Ellis vs. Henrik Lundqvist. This is the last meeting of the season. The Rangers have won both previous meetings (2-1 SO and 4-1)
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
Game 46; Last trip to Sunshine State!
New York Rangers (24-17-4) @ Florida Panthers (13-26-6)
The Rangers open the last week of regular season tonight when they visit the Florida Panthers. This is the lonely visit to the Sunshine State this season and the Rangers are trying to extend their winning streak to four. After terrible road trip (0-4-0), the Panthers are trying to get back to winning their home ice. With the win tonight and the Jets loss against the Caps, the Rangers will secure their place in the playoffs. 18 goals scored by the Rangers in the last three games – can they keep it up? It’s the New York Rangers Gameday!
FLA:
The Panthers were outscored 21-to-5 in their four game road trip over the last week. They were beaten by the Isles, the Rangers, the Devils and the Bruins. This season was a disaster for the Panthers but their future is looking bright. Guys like Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad will be a big part of teams future. 13 players have made their NHL debuts this season with the Panthers. One thing the Panthers need to figure out is their goaltending situation. Can Jakob Markström or Scott Clemmensen lead the to the playoffs next year?
NYR:
The Rangers extended their winning streak to three on Sunday afternoon when they beat the Devils 4-1. This win also eliminated the Devils from the playoffs so the Rangers got some revenge from last years disappointment. Captain Callahan opened the scoring just 34 seconds into the 1st period and Derek Stepan made it 2-0 after a great play by Ryan McDonagh. Taylor Pyatt extended lead to 3-0 in the 2nd and Callahan got his 14th of the season in the 3rd period. Andrei Loktionov scored the lonely goal for the Devils.
Henrik Lundqvist will get another start tonight and the line-up remains the same. The Rangers have found their scoring and with the way the team is playing at the moment, nobody wants to face them in the 1st round of the playoffs. With the Lundqvist effort alone, the Rangers have a chance to win the series.
Key players and stats:
The Rangers have scored 42 goals in the April (Most in the whole league) and suddenly they are ranked 16th in the goals. Brad Richards was awarded with 2nd star of the week by the NHL and he has 7 points in the last three games including his 1st NHL hat-trick. Derek Stepan now has 40 points in the 45 games this season. Derick Brassard has 9 points in the last 10 games after joining the team. Jonathan Huberdeau scored a highlight reel goal in the teams last meeting and he’s the Panthers most dangerous offensive player. As said, this is the last meeting in the regular season. Both teams have won one contest.
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
Rangers eliminate Devils with 4-1 win
Henrik Lundqvist: 21-15-3, 2.11, .926 (11th straight start; 26th in last 28 games
Martin Brodeur: 12-8-7. 2.16, .903
A Rangers win on Sunday afternoon would eliminate the 2012 Eastern Conference champion NJ Devils from playoff contention this season. Entering the game, NYR had scored 14 goals in their last 2 games which have begun to eliminate a lot of the worry there once was about a lack of goal scoring.
The Rangers got off to a fast start when after immediately getting the puck down the NJ end, Ryan Callahan would bank one off the skate of Brodeur and in just 34 seconds into the game. A string of penalties by the Devils would give the Rangers ample chances to add to the lead, but they were all killed off.
Later on, forechecking down low led to Asham feeding the point, and a McDonagh shot deflected off the stick of Derek Stepan and by Brodeur to give the Rangers a 2 goal lead. The Rangers took it to the Devils physically in the first too, with huge hits by Ryan Callahan and Dan Girardi among others. The 2-0 lead would hold after the first period, and over the last 7 periods the Rangers are outscoring opponents by a 16-5 margin.
Coming out in the second with their season on the line, the Devils took it to the Rangers. Most of the early play was around Lundqvist, and he had to turn away a few shots by Clarkson, Zajac, and Loktionov before Steve Bernier shanked one over an empty net. Not able to bury any of those to cut into the lead, the Rangers got the opportunity to extend the lead to three. They did just that when Brad Richards found Taylor Pyatt off a bad NJ turnover; Pyatt wristed one high glove side on Brodeur to put the Rangers up three. That’s how the second would end as New Jersey still couldn’t beat Lundqvist even though carrying an 18-17 shots advantage.
Something that I noticed a lot (as well as NBC clearly did) was that the Rangers were having their defensemen jump up into the play a lot. This isn’t something that is new for today however, it seemed that this is how the Rangers jumped out of that offensive slump of a few weeks ago. Numerous times today I’ve seen Del Zotto, McDonagh and Moore jumping up with the forwards to add an extra body to the offense, and it’s clearly helped. This is something that obviously has to keep up if the Rangers want to make a run in the postseason.
The Rangers quickly would bury the Devils in the 3rd, as off an early powerplay chance, Callahan would convert off a feed from Richards to stretch the lead to 4-0.
All that was left to wonder is if Lundqvist would finish off the shutout, but he would be beaten by Loktionov with just over 6 minutes remaining. That would be the only goal of the game for the Devils, who were eliminated with the 4-1 loss on Sunday.
3 Stars:
3rd: Derek Stepan
2nd: Brad Richards
1st: Ryan Callahan
Key Stats:
Henrik Lundqvist: 26 saves on 27 shots
Ryan Callahan: 2 goals
Derek Stepan: 1 goal & 1 assist
Brad Richards: 2 assists
Taylor Pyatt: 1 goal
Hagelin, McDonagh, Stralman & Del Zotto: 1 assist each
Loktionov (NJ): 1 goal
Brodeur (NJ): 18 saves on 22 shots
The Rangers remain in 8th after the win; tied in points with Ottawa, one back of the Islanders, and 3 points up on Winnipeg. They’re back on the ice on Tuesday night in sunny Florida to take on the Panthers as the last week of the season gets started. With only three games remaining, every point is absolutely crucial for playoff positioning.
Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @malber9
Let’s Go Rangers!!
Matt
Game 45; Hudson River Rivalry – Round 3 at the Garden!
New Jersey Devils (17-17-10) @ New York Rangers (23-17-4)
The Rangers conclude their busy week this afternoon as they host the Devils at the Garden. As the regular season winds down with only 4 games left, this is the first meeting of season between the Rangers and the Devils at the MSG. The Devils won’t make the playoffs this year but they’re ready to spoil the playoff hopes for the Rangers. The Devils beat the Panthers 6-2 yesterday while the Rangers are coming off from great win over the Sabres. Hudson River Rivalry continues!
NJD:
The Devils lost Ilya Kovalchuk and eventually after that they lost 10 games in the row. Last night they got him back and continued winning when they beat the Panthers 6-2. After long playoff run last year, this season has been tough for the Devils. They started the season very well but injuries and offensive struggles made them pay. For example, last week they outshooted the Sens and the Maple Leafs 65 to 24 but lost both games 0-2. Against the Rangers, we can expect almost anything from this team. I wouldn’t be surprised if guys like David Clarkson and Ryan Carter are trying to get something going on with Clowe/Asham.
NYR:
The Rangers have scored 14 goals in the last two games. Yeah, you read it right. Game against the Sabres was pivotal but surely nobody expected this outcome. After 898 games in the league, Brad Richards finally got his 1st NHL hat-trick. In addition, Carl Hagelin, Rick Nash, Anton Stralman, Ryan Clowe and Ryan Callahan scored for the Rangers. The win eliminated the Sabres and the Flyers from the playoffs.
With 4 games left almost anything can still happen. The Rangers are 3 points behind 6th place Islanders and 2 points behind the 7th place Sens. Lundqvist will continue playing and the line-up remains the same. The main goal for the Rangers is get in to the playoffs and after that they can worry about the seeding. They can’t clinch the playoff spot today but if they do win – that’s a huge step towards the playoffs.
Key players and stats:
Good thing for the Rangers is that Brad Richards is getting the points. He has 10 goals in the season with 4 goals in the last two games. Although the Rangers gave up 4 goals against the Sabres, Henrik Lundqvist is playing very well. If he can continue playing like this, the Rangers can beat any team in the league. For the Devils, Martin Brodeur usually plays his best games against the Rangers. Although their overall record is pretty weak, they have guys who can score goals (Belive it or not!) David Clarkson has 14 goals in the season while Patrik Elias has 13. This is the third of four meetings this season. Teams will close-up their regular seasons on April 27th at the Madison Square Garden.
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
Sluggish Start but Strong Finish Leads to 6-1 Win over Last Place Florida
The Rangers would turn to Henrik Lundqvist for his 18th start in the last 19 games, and 24th in the last 26. He came in with a 19-15-3 record, a 2.09 GAA and .926 save %. He was countered by Scott Clemmensen who in brief game action is 3-6-2 with a 3.50 GAA and .880 save %.
Before the game, the Rangers not only paid tribute to the tragedy that happened in Boston the other day, but gave out the Stephen McDonald extra effort award. This award goes to the Ranger player that goes above and beyond, always giving extra effort on and off the ice. For the 4th time in the last 5 years, NYR captain Ryan Callahan would win the award, well deserved.
On to the game, where the Rangers really needed 2 points against the last place Panthers. The Rangers would get an early powerplay chance, and would take advantage. A new look powerplay line of Nash-Brassard-Callahan would cash in when a Callahan shot wide was centered by Nash and Brassard put it by Clemmemsen from in front of the net to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Nice work along the boards by Mats Zuccarello would give the Rangers their 2nd powerplay of the game, and would cash in again. After Florida cleared the zone, a centering pass by Callahan got all the way through to Nash, who beat Clemmensen far side to put the NYR up 2-0, their second powerplay goal of the period.
It was looking good until rookie of the year candidate Jonathan Huberdeau would make a great move around MDZ then Zuccarello, and beat Lundqvist to cut the lead in half with just under 5 minutes left in the period. The period would end 2-1 with Florida holding a 12-11 shots advantage.
The second period would go the same that a lot of the first would, with the Rangers putting a lot of pressure in the offensive zone on the Panthers. They would get 2 powerplays in the first half of the period. However, the powerplays both looked just miserable, with no shots on either one. The momentum would get killed when after putting on a ton of offensive pressure, Zuccarello would haul down Brian Campbell to put Florida on the PP. The Rangers would kill that off.
The Rangers seemed to be due for a goal for the last half of the period, as they spent most of the play around or behind the Panthers goal, wearing down their defenseman. Finally with a little under 5 minutes left in the period, hard work down low by Ryane Clowe would lead to him finding Zuccarello all alone in front who lifted the backhand over Clemmensen to give the NYR the 2 goal lead back. A much better second period left the Rangers up 2 goals heading into the third.
Florida came out in the third looking to get the game back to a goal, playing a lot of the early period in the Rangers end. NYR survived it, but it seemed that the momentum had turned. Maybe that’s part of the reason that John Moore (who nobody knew would fight anyone) dropped the gloves with Jack Skille.
It really seemed to light a fire under the team, and they came out with a lot of intensity from then on. Florida was able to get nothing in the middle part of the period, and with 5 minutes left, a centering pass by Brad Richards went off the skate of Zuccarello and past Clemmensen.
NYR would add two more late goals on a one-timer from the slot by Brassard, and a wrap around by Richards. 6-1 would be the final in a game the Rangers just had to have over the last place Panthers, and the 2 points they got.
3 Stars:
3: Mats Zuccarello
2: Derick Brassard
1: Henrik Lundqvist
Key Stats:
Henrik Lundqvist: 34 saves on 35 shots
Rick Nash: 1 goal & 2 assists
Derick Brassard: 2 goals
Mats Zuccarello: 2 goals
Brad Richards: 1 goal & 1 assist
Ryan Callahan: 2 assists
Clowe, McDonagh, Stepan, Pyatt & Del Zotto: 1 assist each
Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA): 1 goal
Scott Clemmensen (FLA): 24 saves on 30 shots
A solid 6-1 victory over the last place Panthers is just what the Rangers needed after dropping the game in Philly the other night. They played sloppy at times throughout the night which is something that will have to be addressed soon, but for now the Rangers will take the win. With the win, NYR remains in 8th place, 3 back of NYI (who had one more game played), and 4 back of sixth place Ottawa. The Rangers will be back in action Friday night as they travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres. Buffalo currently sits in 11th place in the East and 4 points out of a playoff spot. The teams have split the two meetings so far this year, with each team winning on home ice.
Don’t forget to follow me on twitter @malber9
All for now, LGR!
Matt
Game 44; The Rangers meet the Sabres in the pivotal match-up!
New York Rangers (22-17-4) @ Buffalo Sabres (19-19-6)
The Rangers are right back at the action tonight when they visit their state rival Buffalo Sabres. Both teams are coming off from wins and they both desperately need two points tonight. The Sabres still have a chance to make the playoffs. This game is a must win for them. For the Rangers, they are tied with Jets with 46 points with one game in hand. Very important game for both teams – you don’t wanna miss this one!
BUF:
The Sabres season has been a rollercoaster ride. They fired their headcoach Lindy Ruff earlier this season then they hired Ron Rolston as a headcoach. Most recently they lost Tyler Myers for the season. And still, after a tough season they’re trying to make the last push to the playoffs. The Sabres are 4 points behind the Jets and the Rangers but they only have 4 games left in the regular season. At the trade deadline, the Sabres traded their captain Jason Pominville to the Wild. After that they have been playing well and they are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Ryan Miller has been a key to their success lately.
NYR:
You don’t have to be big to score some goals in the NHL. Small guys like Mats Zuccarello and Derick Brassard both scored two goals against the Panthers and the Rangers eventually beat them 6-1. Richards and Nash also scored for the Rangers. Jonathan Huberdeau had the Panthers lonely goal. The game wasn’t that easy and time to time the Panthers had long shifts in the Rangers end. In the end, the Rangers got what they wanted – two valuable points.
After tonight’s game, the Rangers only have 4 games left in the regular season with two of them against the Devils at the Garden. They need to get every point they can. So it seems that Lundqvist will play all the games. According to the Sport Club Stats, the Rangers now have 83,5% chance to make the playoffs. You really can’t underestimate the value of tonight’s game.
Key players and stats:
Norwegian hobbit, Mats Zuccarello has scored 3 goals in the last two games. Rick Nash scored his 18th goal of the season against the Panthers. John Moore played very good game last night, he had scoring chances, he made good defensive plays and got his 1st regular season fight. Henrik Lundqvist was solid as usual and he was awarded with the 1st star of the game. For the Sabres, you need to look out Tomas Vanek. Austrian sniper has 16 goals and 18 assists in the season. If the goaltending match-up is Lundqvist vs. Miller, the game is going to be low scoring. This is the last meeting in the regular season. The both teams have won one meeting.
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
Game 43; Crucial points up for the grab as the Panthers visit the MSG.
Florida Panthers (13-23-6) @ New York Rangers (21-17-4)
The Rangers are back at the MSG tonight when they host the Florida Panthers. Both teams are coming off from losses on Tuesday night. The Flyers beat the Rangers 3-2 while the Panthers were beaten by the Islanders 5-2. Florida won the teams only meeting this season 3-1 at the Garden on Mar. 21. Other team is playing for the pride and the other is desperately trying to get some points. After tonight’s game, the Rangers will travel to Buffalo to meet the Sabres on Friday night.
FLA:
This season has been “normal” for the Panthers. Last year they surprised everybody and almost made their way to the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Panthers have won only 13 games this season and their goal difference is -46. They really have missed one of their veteran player, Ed Jovanovski, who has played in only 6 games this season. On the bright side, Jonathan Huberdeau will be a big name for this team. 19-year-old rookie has 13 goals and 14 assists in the season. Last time these teams met, Jacob Markström played very well in the Panthers net. Expecting to see him again in the net.
NYR:
At this time in the regular season you hope that your special teams will get the job done. Unfortunately for the Rangers, they couldn’t get the job done against the Flyers. They were 0-for-5 on the power play and they gave up a PP goal to the Flyers. Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored for the Rangers but they were beaten 3-2. For Zuccarello, the goal was first since he joined the team and for Stepan the goal was his 15th of the season. Brian Boyle was injured in the last game and due to that the Rangers called up Chris Kreider.
The Rangers didn’t get any help from the other teams on Tuesday night. Both the Senators and Islanders won and with the Jets win over the Lighting, the Rangers and the Jets are tied with 46 points. The Rangers do have a game in hand but they don’t have the tiebreaker. The Jets have 20 in regulation time/ OT wins while the Rangers have 17. Martin Biron could get the start tonight and Lundqvist would have a valuable day off before the last push to the playoffs.
Edited 11:55, it seems that Lundqvist will get his 9th consecutive start tonight.
Key players and stats:
After a tricky start to the season, Derek Stepan has been playing the best hockey of his NHL career. He has 15 goals and 20 assists in the season. If the Rangers want to have a long run in the playoffs, they need to get Brad Richards going. He does little things well, he makes good defensive plays but he’s having a hard time to hit the net. He has only 6 goals in the season and the Rangers could really use some offensive help from him. As said, Jonathan Huberdeau has had a tremendous rookie season in the NHL. The Rangers need to look out Brian Campbell on the blueline, he has 6 PP goals in the season. This is the second meeting of the season. The last meeting is on next week in Florida.
Let’s Go Rangers!
Follow me on Twitter; @VilleLampinen
Lack of Intensity in Philly leads to costly 4-2 loss
The Rangers entered Wednesday with 7 games remaining on the season, while playing no team currently in the top 8 for the remainder of the year. However, there was a lack of intensity all night, as the Rangers would fall to the rival Flyers by a 4-2 final Tuesday night at the Wells Fargo Center.
Henrik Lundqvist would get yet another start in goal. I personally think he should be given 2 rest games out of the final 6 now, especially since 2 of them are against Florida. He entered the night with a 19-4-3 record with a 2.06 GAA and .928 save %. He would be countered by Steve Mason of the flyers, who in brief action in Columbus this year was 0-2-0 with a 1.74 and .934.
Flyers came out from the get-go with the mindset of trying to push the pace against the Rangers. They know that the NYR want to play the game from behind the goal lines, and that’s not Philly’s style. The Rangers really didn’t look sharp early, as the Flyers controlled the play. That being said, not too many chances early which actually benefited the sloppy Rangers start. Finally, Philly struck first when off the rush a deflected shot went right to Brayden Schenn, who had a near vacant goal to put the Flyers up 1-0 halfway through the first.
Things wouldn’t get better for the NYR the last half of the period as during a powerplay, Brian Boyle would get injured and ended up leaving the game with a leg injury, and he did not return. It would continue to get worse when on the rush a shot from Erik Gustafsson beat Lundqvist far side to put the Flyers on top 2-0. The Rangers would actually end up having a 10-6 edge in shots on the period, but it did not feel like it at all.
After the sloppy first, it’s probably a safe bet that Tortorella had some things to say to the team that I cannot write here. Whatever he said worked as just a few minutes into the period, Mats Zuccarello would take advantage of a bad Flyers change to find some open ice, and a bad defensive play which led to him ripping one past Mason to cut the lead in half.
The rest of the period was mostly about the Rangers taking penalties. After Asham dropped the gloves with Jay Rosehill to try to spark the team, the parade to the penalty box began.
McDonagh would take an interference penalty on Briere, which even though it was killed off, the Flyers spent the majority of the time in the zone and got a few good looks. Right after that, Ryane Clowe would take a boarding penalty on ex-NYR Ruslan Fedotenko. This one wasn’t killed off as right off a clean faceoff win by Giroux, Kimmo Timonen ripped the slapper by Lundqvist to extend the Flyer lead back to 2.
The Rangers got a PP chance late in the period off a Luke Schenn penalty, but the powerplay could do absolutely nothing. And by nothing, I mean that the Rangers had possession of the puck in the offensive zone for all of 9 seconds on the powerplay, and Philly cleared the zone 6 times. The period would end 3-1, with the Rangers definitely still lacking intensity.
The third saw the Rangers starting to get some great chances. Brassard found Zuccarello all alone in front but he was robbed by Mason. Back to the PP after a Hartnell tripping call, but yet again the powerplay couldn’t produce much of anything. After the PP the top line would get the puck towards the net, and it bounced right to Stepan in the slot who buried it with 12 minutes left to cut the lead back to a single goal.
This brings us to the part of the game that I really want to touch on. With about 7 and a half minutes left in the game, the Rangers are absolutely out-playing the Flyers and have a 16-2 edge in shots. Steve Mason seems injured after having his own defenseman land on his leg. He stayed down on the ice for a few minutes but ended up staying in the game. He still looked to be injured just trying to move, so you would think the Rangers would take shots from pretty much anywhere. Well let’s just say that Mason has to make as many saves the rest of the game as times that Michael Del Zotto got hit in the mouth with the puck. The Rangers mustered one single shot on a seemingly injured goalie in the final 7 minutes of a game in which they were down by one. That’s just incomprehensible to me.
Anyway, Lundqvist would come off the ice with a minute left, but yet again the Rangers couldn’t really get much going in the zone, and Jacob Voracek hit the empty net with 14 seconds left to ice the game, 4-2.
The Rangers showed a lack of intensity all night from the opening puck drop. Did they overlook the Flyers with where they are in the standings plus all their injuries? Possibly, but you can’t use that as an excuse at this point, and it sure as hell shouldn’t be happening with 7 games remaining in the season while currently in 8th place. People keep talking about how the NYR have the league’s easiest schedule the rest of the way, which is true. However, if they keep playing like this it doesn’t matter if you played the Panthers (who they have twice in the final six), they won’t make the playoffs.
The blueshirts are back in action Thursday night at MSG to take on the aforementioned Panthers in a game the Rangers really cannot afford to lose at this point. They are now tied with Winnipeg for 8th place, just holding a one game played advantage over the Jets. The loss drops the Rangers 3 points back of 7th place NY Islanders, and 4 points of 6th place Ottawa. Toronto is virtually un-catchable at this point.
As always, all comments and feedback are welcomed. Don’t forget to add me on twitter @malber9 and LGR!
Matt
True Blue I Am a Ranger 